Etymologically
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dough

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dəʊ/ (UK); /doʊ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dogh, inherited from Old English dāg,[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *daigaz (“something kneaded”),[3][2][4] cognate with Dutch deeg, Old High German teic (modern Teig), Old Norse deig and Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌲𐍃 (daigs),[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead, form”), also the source of Latin fingō (“to shape”) and Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos, “wall”).[4][3][5] It is related to lady and dairy.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Flour or meal moistened and kneaded for baking: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart.[7][2] The Middle English form doh is from about 1150.[2]

Semantic evolution

My cake is dough, my project has failed, is a proverb from 1596.[7] Any soft pasty mass is from 1559.[7] The slang sense, money, is originally American, from 1851,[3][7] compare bread.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – dāg.[7][2]
  • 1559 – a soft mass.[7]
  • 1596 – my cake is dough.[7]
  • 1851 – money (slang).[3][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A thick mixture of flour and liquid, kneaded and shaped for baking into bread or pastry.
  2. Any similar soft, pasty mass.
  3. (slang) Money.

Word family

  • doughlike
  • donut
  • doughface
  • sourdough
  • doughboy
  • doughnut
  • doughy

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press